WHAT IS ROOIBOS?Rooibos is an elegantly sweet herbal tea, rich in aromatic and flavourful qualities. Rooibos is completely pure and natural as it contains no additives, preservatives or colourants, which makes rooibos the quintessential health-soothing beverage, the ideal companion at the table.

History

It is a cold sunny morning in mid-June in the year 1772. somewhere in the Gif Mountains (.Gifberg) area, close to where the town of Vanrhynsdorp is situated today; outside a Khoikhoi family huddles together, preparing for a beaker of the steamingly hot drink, brewed from the plant called .rooibos which grows naturally in the surrounding region. History has it that when the pioneers who moved away from modern day Cape Town to the north-western inland territory of the Cape Province, they found the Khoikhoi ; the first inhabitants of the southern tip of Africa ; to the utilizing the rooibos plant to brew a savoury herbal tea. Thus was born the inimitable rooibos tea legend.

The rooibos plant

The plant from which the rooibos herbal tea is produced has been scientifically classified in 1963 as belonging to the genus .Aspalathus linearis. Four main categories are found: red, ash-coloured, black and red-brown. The most well-known is the .red tea which, in turn, is divided into the .Nortier and .Cedarberg types. Of these two the ecotype Nortiera is the one which is commercially cultivated for the purpose of the production of rooibos herbal tea.

The taste profile of rooibos herbal tea:

Appearance: Ochre orange, brilliant, with a definitive tone of colour graduating from the eye (centre) of the tea to the meniscus level; generally darker/deeper in the heart (eye) than other tea. (See preparation process).

Aroma: Significant distant aroma, rendering it possible to smell the tea from at least one metre away in an odour free room. Faint impressions of the rooibos tea-bush itself come to the fore, reminiscent of leaves; slightly honey0like (sweetish) undertones, conveying a pleasant complexity on the nose; good depth of aromas ; in other words one cannot smell .through the tea due to the layers of aroma.

Taste: First impressions of slight earthiness combined again with that elegant sweetness which runs through the tea like a golden thread; then followed by impressions of very soft tannins, rendering an overall mouthful taste to the tea. The retro-nasal impressions are pertinent, confirming the inner-mouth aromas throughout, and finishing in a long and delicate aftertaste.

Overall impressions: A fairly deep-coloured rooibos tea; elegant and complex on both nose and palate; smooth and easy to drink; quite full but again showing that elegance. A great kaudielie count, i.e. sum-total of aftertaste impressions counted in seconds, assessed after the tea has been swallowed.

Preparing rooibos herbal tea:

The wise and sensible preparation of rooibos is imperative to fully appreciating its sensory qualities. It is as essential to accurately preparing and serving rooibos, than it is to serving wine at correct temperatures. There is this non-sensical view to easily call rooibos .weak, or even .watery ; in Afrikaans the word is .flou ; thereby criticizing the tea without considering the accurate preparation thereof. In this respect two general methods apply:

The water is cooked and poured into a cup; the bag inserted; everything is stirred with a teaspoon for a longer or shorter period of time and then served and/or enjoyed.

The alternative is to let the tea bag simmer in the water and to infuse it for at least ten minutes and even a while longer. This secures a better extraction of colour and phenolic substances, rendering the tea a deeper colour, with more intensity of aromas, and also ensures a fuller taste impact. In addition, all the odorous and flavour characteristics, including the elegant typical sweetness of a good tea, will become more pronounced.

Rooibos tea is rapidly gaining in popularity as a health beverage, and according to extensive research which has been conducted in this regard ; amongst others by the Japanese ; the true aromatic and taste personality of rooibos, as well as its health-improving features, are only fully released once the second method of preparation is employed.

It therefore speaks for itself that consumer education ; as is again also the case with the enjoyment of wine ; constitutes an essential component in the marketing of rooibos tea. To this task our Company is totally committed.

Summary of the unique propositions of Original Rooibos Tea:

All the variables which have to do from the area of origin where the rooibos tea plants are cultivated, through the actual production process and finally to the organoleptic quality of the tea in the cup, are supervised by the manufacturer of Original Rooibos. To the consumer this ensures, amongst other things, consistency of quality and the guarantee that the end product is not just a commercialized rooibos tea, having no individuality of taste qualities, but a reliable herbal tea which can be served and enjoyed with alacrity at all times.

Our product is a Maskam rooibos tea of origin in the true sense of the word.

Maskam Rooibos has a definitive sensory personality, allowing it to stand up and be counted in any comparative tasting with other rooibos products.

We pride ourselves in the appealing colour appearance, refined aromatic character, and in the subtle and elegant flavour qualities of Maskam Rooibos. Our tea is devoid of any rough edges, neither is it short-flavoured or lacking in complexity. Maskam Rooibos is simply a tea of style.

Quality Redbush Pasteurization Control Center Ltd.

Situated in the outskirts of Vanrhynsdorp is our state of the art pasteurization facility. Vanrhynsdorp is one of the oldest producing districts of rooibos in the industry and nestles in the heart of the well known Maskam region, about 50km from the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of Southern Africa.s winter rainfall area ; about 300km north of Cape Town. Vanrhynsdorp was proclaimed in 1751 as Troe-Troe. (The name was derived from the Khoikhoi word .toro-toro ; .war, war. IN 1881 the name was changed to Vanrhynsdorp making it one of the oldest towns in South Africa.

Due to the fact that our pasteurization facility is situated in the heart of the Maskam production region, we are in the strategic position to facilitate all the processing of rooibos tea from the surrounding area. This region is the only one where specialized rooibos farming occurs and other crops are cultivated. The farmers are thus highly dependent on rooibos, rendering it essential to farm in a very specialized way by employing the most modern applicable cultivation and production methods.

Vision and Mission

Our mission is to inform and educate the public on the way rooibos, and especially our herbal tea should be prepared for optimum benefit and enjoyment.

It is our ultimate aim is to offer the most consistent high quality rooibos tea the industry has to offer, and to guarantee our customers a product of integrity through our authentic process of control from start to finish. From the plant to the cup.

Maskam Rooibos is in a consistant state of evolotuion and their aim is to be instrumental in setting new standards for the Rooibos industry, and through such endeavor develop and uplift the entire industry for the benefit of all involved.